Frozen in Place
by AnonTheSwan
Summary: AU, Thug!Levi x Eren fluff; It's the middle of winter in the slums known as Shinganshina. Run by thugs, it can be quite a dangerous area if one were to lose their way. Eren, in the midst of the chaos that is becoming his life, gets himself lost and in some trouble. Levi, a thug that's made a name for himself, finds him. Rated M for dark themes and explicit violence.


I was cold, lost, and so terribly alone. I could feel the way the frost crept up my arms and pierced into my skin, my thin sweater providing no cover from the torrents of winter. I couldn't afford a puffy winter coat or even a worn wind breaker, it was hard enough for my mother to get dinner on a plate. We relied on what little we could find abandoned in the streets and leftover cash in pay checks, which was rare to begin with. We lived on the outsides of a fairly rich city, Trost, the capital of the province Maria. Though, some parts were more urbanized than others, and it had its fair share of slums.

I technically lived in a town called Shinganshina, and went to a high school in the dead center of it with the same name. There was a decent population of kids in similar situations as me, though surprisingly the majority were pretty well off. It's common for adults to find cheap housing in Shinganshina while working in Trost, getting the most out of their pay. Though that made them easy targets for the gangs that ran rampant.

Ah, before I get into that though, how did I get into this mess?

I had trudged home after school through a thick layer of snow, nearly succumbing to the subzero weather before I could even make it to the house. When I did arrive, I was greeted with quite the surprise.

"Hey mom! I'm home..." I had called from the opening, quickly closing the door behind me in an attempt to keep the heat trapped inside. I stomped the snow off my worn boots, peeled them off, and walked inside.

"Mom?" No response. I wasn't too worried at this point, it wasn't uncommon for her to stay late at work. I looked around for any signs of life any who, when I found a small white paper beside a large formal letter with bold lettering on the front.

'Eviction Notice?'

My heart began to beat faster, we were being evicted? Why didn't mom tell me there was something going on? In hopes to quell my heart and silence the anxiety, I quickly picked up the small note beside it.

Dear Eren,

I cannot apologize enough for what I have decided to do. I haven't been able to pay rent for 3 months now, and we won't be able to live here any longer. To escape my debts, I am going to try hiding and finding refuge in another village. In case I am found, I don't want you dragged into my mess. I won't be telling you where I'm going, but I want you to know I love you dearly. I know you're a smart kid, you will figure out where to go and how to live without your poor excuse of a mother.

I love you dearly,

Mom

Flipping over the note in desperation that this was some sick joke, I found a photo of us taped to the back. It was taken about 3 years ago, when we were happier and I had more meat on my bones. Our situation only declined from there. The province was hit by a recession that year and we had to make important sacrifices just to make ends meet.

Tears began to form in the corners of my eyes, thoughts were racing chaotically in my head. It felt like the world was falling and I was going down with it. After what felt like an eternity of just staring at my mother's face, I knew I needed to leave my childhood home with what belongings I had and try to find shelter for the night. I dumped out my backpack of papers and textbooks and began to fill it with anything I could find that was useful. Some food mom had left for me, a blanket full of holes and memories, my weightless wallet that simply carried my identity, and some essential toiletries. I carefully placed the note and photo in as well, being sure not to wrinkle the last memento I had of my mother. When I was finished, I looked back in the place I have always called home, and turned to the door to say goodbye to it forever.

20 minutes of walking in search of a warm place for shelter for the night led me to where I am now. That is, in an alley between two tall buildings that gave slight shelter from the biting wind. The sun had already started to set and I could feel the temperature slowly drop further.

I was cold. I was tired and depressed, losing what little I had. And most of all, I was scared.

At least I thought I was scared, until I heard footsteps coming towards me. In an alley. At night. In the slums basically run by thugs.

_Now_ I'm scared.

As I began to turn my head to see what kind of person was willingly walking in this weather in a dark alley, the steps sped up and quickly reached me.

Before I could even turn around, there was a knife to my throat.

"A'ight pretty boy, don't you move an inch. Tell me where yer money is and I won't hurt ya." A croaky voice spoke just behind my ear. He clearly didn't want to make a scene. From his presence, he was likely a lot stronger than me. Plus, with a weapon to my throat, there was no room to fight back.

"I-I don't have any money! I swear!" I spoke in rushed words, genuine fear radiating off of me.

Thinking I just didn't want to cooperate, he unzipped my bag and violently pulled it off my back. Still keeping a constant pressure against my throat, he dumped my belongings on the ground. Seeing my wallet, he pushed me face down in the snow and, from what it sounded like, picked it up.

2 minutes of rummaging later and he was speaking again, though in a different tone this time, somehow slightly more sadistic.

"No money, no home, and no one who will miss ya. Pretty and fairly young, aren'tchya? I might have some other uses fer ya, kid." The way he ended the sentence gave me chills, and not only from the numbing snow that was surrounding my face and body. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled my head up so he could get a better look at his prize. To my surprise, there was something even more chilling that I saw.

Another man had managed to silently get behind him. He had cold grey eyes that screamed murderer, thin but well built, and had a foul grimace plastered to his face.

Just as my attacker was about to question what I was looking at, the scene was splattered in red.

His grip loosened on me and he practically fell on top of me.

I was lying on my stomach in the snow, arms propped up and pure shock mixed with dread had been cemented to my face. I was covered in blood, and I could feel the corpse of my attacker leaning against my back. I could no longer register the cold, the pounding in my head, nor the burning on my throat left behind from the knife. No, all that my head could wrap itself around was the sight before me.

My saviour was paying no mind to me for the moment, seemingly upset about the blood that had made its way to his coat and face. Now that I could get a better look at him, he seemed in his early 20's, not much older than me. He had dark, raven coloured hair that fell to his nape, with the lower layers shaved off. Even with a constant grimace, he actually looked quite handsome.

My thoughts were interrupted as he finally spoke.

"Tch. Fucking disgusting. Hey, you okay kid?" He finally glanced over to me, but his expression changed ever so slightly, out of shock? But it quickly cleared and he spoke again.

"Hey, you're not looking too hot, brat. Can you speak?"

Oh, can I? I'm actually starting to feel very tired. The emotions and physical fatigue of the day finally caught up to me, and all I wanted to do was rest. I can sleep now that I'm safe, right? Ah, I never thanked you...

"Oi, oi! Brat!" Was the last thing I heard, somewhere off in the distance.

I awoke to the foreign feeling of warmth. I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar house. I was laying on a plump tan couch, with a thick caramel blanket splayed on top of me. The blanket smelled of fresh detergent and the house itself had a slight aroma of lemons and bleach. In front of me was a spotless wooden coffee table with several steel coasters stacked on the corner. The floors were wooden and appeared freshly polished, a glaring contrast to my own at my childhood home. Rays of light coming off from a window to my left indicated it was already day time. I lifted my head slowly to try to take in more of my surroundings, only to be greeted by nauseating pain radiating from my neck. That was when the memories of the night before flooded back to me. Everything from my mom leaving, losing my home, getting attacked, and then watching a murder unfold before my eyes. It was too much, and I felt like I was going to be sick. The thoughts began to suffocate me, and I couldn't breathe.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Can you not even breathe for yourself? Get ahold of yourself, brat." A harsh voice boomed from right above me. It was familiar, was this the same man that saved me?

I tried my best to calm down, but it was much harder than one would expect. The man eventually grew tired of it and walked around the couch and kneeled before me.

"Oi, listen to me. You're going to be fine, you're safe. Just breathe, alright? I'm not going to hurt you." The man said, a much softer tone this time. When he was convinced that I had calmed down, he spoke again.

"I grabbed your things and I patched your wounds. The worst is on your neck where he had the knife, so try not to move it around too much. You can stay as long as you need, just don't bother or cause trouble. Understand?"

"Yes sir. Thank you for your hospitality." I quickly blurted out. I felt compelled to call him sir, like some sort of military figure. He gave off that 'authoritative captain' vibe.

"It's Levi. Just call me that, you'll make me feel old brat." He seemed agitated, but then again, he has seemed like that ever since you met him yesterday.

"Oh, ok. My name's Eren by the way, thank you so much again. Once I get good enough strength to move again, I'll be sure to find someplace else to stay." I felt guilty for leaving him the responsibility of taking care of me, I've already failed someone I loved because I relied too much on their support. I'll have to find some way of repaying Levi. He did save my life, after all.

Levi didn't respond. Instead, he got up and walked out of my sight. I could only presume he went to a kitchen as I could hear drawers opening and closing, and eventually boiling water. This left me alone to my thoughts once again. I brought my hand up to my neck, only to feel cotton fibers where my wound was. I could feel a slight amount of dry blood on the bandage and internally cringed at the thought of how close I could have been to death. Though, it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be, especially with the extreme pain from moving it earlier. It was clearly a shallow cut, so the stiff neck was likely from sleeping on it weird. I began to slowly roll my neck, finding that it was a pulled muscle on my left side.

I decided I wanted to see what Levi was doing, so I pushed myself up with what little strength I could muster from my arms. I swung my legs over the edge of the couch, noticing the pins and needles run down my still numb legs. I also noted a few more bandages around my knees, likely scraped up when I was shoved to the ground. _Looks like I won't be walking too much today._ After some awkward shuffling, I managed to turn myself enough so that I didn't have to strain my neck to look over towards the kitchen.

It was a small place, doorway to the right, hall connecting to what I could only assume was the bathroom as well as a bedroom, and the kitchen and living room setup in a way that it was technically only one room. The only dividing line being the ceiling that inclined up about half a foot at the start of the kitchen. Levi was standing maybe 6 feet away, leaning against an island that matched the marble counters in front of him. He was simply watching his kettle, idly standing with his arms crossed. He was a modest and simple man, nothing like the Trost kids I knew. Now that I can get a good look at him from a distance, he was also quite short despite being older than me.

"Hey Levi?"

"Hn?" He hummed, still lazily staring at the kettle.

"How old are you?"

He sat and pondered for a moment, I thought he decided to not even grace me with an answer when he finally spoke up again.

"23 since December."

I'll be 19 in a couple months so just a little over 4 years older than me. Now that I think of it, I was supposed to finally finish high school this year. I stayed back another year to try to give myself more time to figure out what I wanted to do. Not like I was planning to go to college anyways, so I guess I'm not missing out on too much. A lot of my classmates had come to the same conclusion as me, just finish high school and hope that some rich blokes will hire us up in Trost. It wouldn't pay much, but we would have accepted any help we could get. Levi on the other hand seems like he has his life together pretty well, despite the small size it's quite a nice house. I wonder if he's from Trost?

As I was about to ask Levi and see, his kettle went off and he went to work picking up two teacups I hadn't noticed before. He set them down, poured the hot water, and carefully set the kettle aside.

"Did you want any cream or sugar in your tea?" He said, in a soothed tone. Looks like tea puts him in a slightly better mood, I'll have to keep note of that.

"Plain is fine, thank you!" I replied, as if I knew exactly what I liked and made it on the regular. Honestly, I don't drink tea in the first place. Though, I didn't want to refuse his hospitality. He had already gone out of his way for me. I've been told it's bitter, but I've also been told that it can be 'smooth' and that it warms your gut. I didn't care for bitter things and I couldn't afford the luxury of warmth, so I just never got around to trying it.

He sauntered over and handed me the steaming cup, a blush on my face as I muttered another thank you. He plopped himself on the couch directly beside me and drank his tea in peace, never breaking his still poker face. As I brought the cup up to my lips, I could see him side eyeing me, as if challenging me to not enjoy it. I allowed a small amount of the steaming liquid passage, that way I wouldn't overwhelm my tongue with the bitterness or burn it. First it was just warm, then a slight hint of some type of herb danced along my tongue, giving slight bitterness but nonetheless overpowered by the calming warmth that the tea provided. It was good! I could feel my muscles relax and my cheeks flush, a faint smile gracing my face.

I looked over at Levi to see how he would react, only to see that he had the slightest smile on his face as well. Catching my eye, he quickly looked away and tried to cover himself up.

"You act like you've never had it before, brat." He was still looking away, and he was putting up an act of annoyance to hide his moment of vulnerability. It's kind of cute...

"Actually, I haven't. I didn't have much money growing up and I was pretty picky, so I didn't want to spend the money I had on something I didn't think I would like." For some reason, I felt like I could be honest with this guy. Is it because he saved my life? Or because I thought he was really cute? I'm not too sure, but probably mostly because I wouldn't be sitting here without him.

"Guess we grew up in the same types of situations." The relaxing tea was loosening Levi up enough to actually attempt at holding a conversation. Considering I don't know how rare this is, I'm going to seize the opportunity to learn everything I can from him.

"So how'd you end up here?" I looked around the house to imply what I was taking about, without directly saying 'rich' and 'privileged'.

"I do favours for people. Most know my name and seek me out. Pays pretty well."

"What do you mean by 'favours?'"

"High profile shit that you don't have to worry yourself over, brat." I guess I pissed him off again, his nonchalant tone became aggressive and his cold, murderous glare came back again. It scared me a bit honestly, I shrank back.

"Sorry." The air was silent after. It felt both awkward and tense, I was uneasy.

Though, after a moment, Levi just sighed and returned his focus to his tea. He started conversation again, avoiding personal topics from then on. We spoke for a couple hours about what we enjoyed, what we inspired to be, and so on. Turns out Levi dreamed of eventually owning a small café and to escape this town. He wanted a quiet life that simply fulfilled his own needs, not having to worry about others relying on his work. He had said that he was tired of it, but he never explained what he meant by that, nor did I want to pry again. I suppose whatever "favours" he does for people is greatly appreciated, though I think I have a pretty good guess as to what they are.

The slums are run entirely by gangs. What else would it mean if people knew his name and sought him out? He's a thug for sure, it would explain why he has enough money for a house but can't live a luxurious life in Trost. He likely has people hunting him down, clients that rely on whatever deeds they ask of him, and a long list of crimes that he would have a hard time hiding in a populous city. As if our first encounter wasn't proof enough, those murderous eyes proved that they had real intent behind them.

Even after I've come to this conclusion, I'm still not scared of Levi. Yes, he can scare me, but I'm not afraid of _him_. He certainly has no intent of hurting me. He saved me from such a dark and sinister situation, from some other thug that I could only imagine the horrible things he had in mind for me. I can't imagine Levi doing anything to harm an innocent civilian if he had gone out of his way to save me.

I rolled over a bit on the couch to get more comfortable. After our conversation, Levi left and said that he was going to try to get a nap in while he still could. Though, from this position, I could hear him better from the bedroom. I could faintly hear his voice through the walls. From the sounds of it, he got woken up by a phone call. I tried to listen to what he was saying but his voice was far too muffled to understand. I'm the nosy type so I would have normally snuck closer to listen but my legs just feel so numb and I feel so exhausted, I can't put in the effort to even bother trying.

About 2 minutes later and Levi was in the living room again getting ready to leave.

"Hey, I'm just going to do a quick favour for someone. If you can manage to walk, you can help yourself to the fridge. Just don't steal any of my shit other than that. If you can't walk, all the better for me. I'll be back eventually." He was hurriedly zipping his coat up and grabbed his phone on the way out. He didn't really give me a chance to even say goodbye as he was already out the door when he finished talking, closing and locking it behind him.

I wasn't sure what time it was, but looking out the window showed that it was already dark out. I felt tired and figured my body could use some rest. I reached for the tan blanket that laid on the floor, as well as my backpack that was directly in front of me. Opening it up, I pulled out the blanket I brought from home as well. I first wrapped myself in my own, then managed to glide the other on top of me. Encased in a warm cocoon, I felt sheltered and safe. Sleep quickly overcame me.

White sheets of snow piled into a soft blanket of frozen tundra. The frozen vastness of white reflected light from the sun beautifully, encasing the land in abnormally warm rays. A light breeze picked up from behind me and I turned to face it and feel it push against my face. I turned, but instead was met with a rush of icy splinters as snow turned to hail. The snow itself was changing colour. I could hear a voice.

"Eren. Don't come back home."

It was my mother's voice. I tried to squint my eyes through the thick blizzard, but all I could see was the snow changing from white to pink, soon scarlet with my own blood.

"Mom, where are you?!" I was hyperventilating, completely breathless.

"Hey, pretty boy, why don't I show you a good time?"

I quickly turn around to face where I had heard the voice come from. This time, there was a figure standing in the snow. He was not who I was expecting, in fact I don't think this was the one who spoke at all.

"Who are you?!" My call was useless, the slender figure just began to walk towards me, slowly. Jet black hair was being violently blown back from the nightmarish torrents of the wind, revealing a sadistic smile that did not belong on that familiar face. He was scaring me.

"Stop! Please, please just stop..." my legs were frozen in place, I felt weak and tired. I wasn't sure from where, but I knew I was bleeding out too. I was about ready to give up as he was only a few feet away from me. I fell to my knees and looked up, seeing Levi stand in front of me with a knife, already covered in blood from the scarlet snow that endlessly fell. Tears streamed down my face, I wanted to run so badly. He brought his knife up, smile never faltering. He was prepared to kill me. I was going to die. I screamed.

"Oi! Fucking wake up!"

Still mixed up from the nightmare, opening my eyes to Levi again was more than just frightening. I tried to get away, but being trapped in my cocoon of blankets prevented that. I was sobbing, and felt nauseous.

"No! Stop! Get away!" I screamed, giving all my effort to escape my blanket prison. Levi pushed me down with one hand and towered above me, stopping my squirming all together.

"Eren, I don't know what the hell you were dreaming about, but you're fine. Just relax. Nobody's out to hurt you." Levi had his usual deadpan look about him, he lacked any sadistic smile. I stopped a moment and looked around. I was in Levi's house, I wasn't bleeding out, and I'm warm in blankets. Realizing this, I tried to even out my breathing. Levi saw I was calming down and released the pressure from my chest. He turned away and brought himself down to the floor, sitting in front of me and keeping me company. He tilted his head up to the ceiling and spoke,

"You doing okay now?"

I had to reflect for a moment. Relative to what? I'm completely fucked up right now, I can't even differ my imagination from reality. My past 24 hours have been a shitty blur that my brain doesn't even want to try to comprehend. I'm repressing things, regressing to a dependent child, and scared shitless. I may lack any significant wounds, but what's really broken is something that isn't easily fixed. So, I guess I know my answer.

"Yeah." What can I say, Levi isn't my therapist.

"You sure?" Didn't take Levi as the prying type. I guess if he wants to know so badly, I can tell him.

"No."

"You want to talk about it?" Levi was being kind, showing me sympathy and giving me his full attention. Even though he was staring up at the ceiling rather than at me directly, I knew he was intently listening to every word I had to say. I preferred it like this anyway, it helped diffuse the awkwardness and embarrassment. I didn't need him seeing me like this, I probably have blood shot eyes and my face is wet from the still fresh tears that had been pouring down my cheeks not even 2 minutes ago.

"I lost my home, my only family, my way down an alley, and nearly my life. When I think I'm safe, my mind forces me to run it over again in a hellish loop that I can't control. I-" I had to choke back some hiccups from the sobs that threatened to come out again, "I just- I just don't know- what I'm going to do now? I... I just feel- so alone? Why the fuck did I deserve this?" I managed to spurt out the last sentence before collapsing in uncontrollable sobs. I drew my arms up to hide my face and tried to bring my knees up too, but was too weak still to bring them any higher than 45 degrees. I looked like a complete mess and absolutely pathetic.

I heard Levi get up again. I opened my arms slightly to see what he was doing, but had to question again whether I was dreaming or if this was reality.

I watched as Levi peeled the thick blankets off of me and place his arms underneath my legs and back, using the arm on my back to lift me in a sitting position.

"Wha-" He quickly cut me off,

"You best grab on if you don't want to fall." He was definitely being serious but he was also avoiding any eye contact, staring straight ahead and focusing on his task.

I decided to take his threat seriously and quickly wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the toned muscles on his upper back. He felt warm, and I subconsciously brought my body closer to his in an attempt to capture more of his warmth. He then lifted me up with ease and began walking towards the hallway to his bedroom. I took the chance to retract one of my arms back to wipe the tears off my face in an attempt to keep his clothes clean. He had luckily left his door open and just leaned his back against it to walk inside. Using his foot to close it behind him, he walked towards the extravagantly large bed and gently lowered me onto it. When he pulled his arms away from me, I felt an overwhelming sadness wash over me at the thought of him leaving me here.

When did I become like this? Have I always been so infatuated with Levi? From the way his hair parts away from his face to his odd cleanliness habits, I've grown fond of the few details I've found in the one day of knowing him. Even laying on his sheets, his scent has begun to bring comfort to my being. I feel like I can be open with him, I'm safe with him. I wonder, when he picked me up, could he feel my heart racing a mile a minute? Could he see the blush that covered my entire face? Damn, I'm just like a school girl with a crush.

The lights went out and Levi walked back over. He went to the end of the bed and dragged the thick comforter over my body, then slipped under the bedding himself. He scooched over until his body encased my own, his head resting on top of mine and his one arm snaking underneath my neck. I took this as a free invitation to cuddle against him, and I took full advantage of it. I rolled over more to tuck my face into his chest and entwine my legs with his own. He pulled his arm that wasn't trapped underneath my neck around my torso and comfortably laid it there, fully embracing me.

"Eren," He said in the softest voice, "I'm not going to let you be alone. Stay with me and I'll protect you." He curled the arm that laid under my head and gently brushed his fingers through my hair as he spoke. "You won't have to be afraid anymore, I'll take care of you."

New tears brimmed the corners of my eyes, "Why do you care so much? You don't even know me..."

"You don't remember right now, but we have actually met once before. Though that's a story for another day, you've had a long night. Just get some rest, Eren." He was still sifting his fingers through my hair, lulling me towards sleep. I still had questions, I wanted to know what he was talking about, but I didn't argue. I couldn't resist it either, sleep was already engulfing my body.

I was in another dream, but luckily this time I knew. Though, it honestly felt more like a memory. It was so vivid that it felt real. Rain was pouring down from the dark sky but silence encased the land. I couldn't hear anything. I looked around and the scenery all seemed so familiar, large trees obscured tall walls that were miles away. Lush green fields were filled with bodies of fallen soldiers and strewn pieces of flesh from giants that I could only recall as 'titans'. What few soldiers that had survived were wrangling the spooked horses that had abandoned their masters in the heat of battle. Most peculiar was the captain of them all, kneeling in front of a tree away from the rest of the group. I walked over in curiosity but as I got closer, I could identify that it was Levi, and he was holding one of the fallen soldiers much in the same way as he had carried me to bed today.

I approached his figure. For whatever reason, I knew that I couldn't interact with this scenery and that he couldn't hear me, nor could I hear him. And so, I sat down criss-cross in front of him. He had his head bowed down over the figure that he held, obviously crying over their death. I felt sad for him and peered at the face of the soldier to see who he had lost.

To my surprise, it was my own face that seemed to be resting so peacefully in his arms, a sad smile caked in blood that was slowly washing away from the rain.

I jolted awake, waking Levi as well.

"Eren,-" It was my turn to cut him off.

"I remember everything." I watched as his tired face immediately changed to shock, then he fully processed what that meant and began to cry again.

"Hope that means that this time you'll be a bit more careful," was all he had to say, pulling me in a tighter embrace that in itself said 'I'll be more careful too'.

* * *

A/N: Heyo! First fic! I would love any feedback as I would like to continually improve my style and possibly post some more stories in the future! I hope you guys enjoyed 3


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